Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lectic programming that may feature a salsa congress, a Steve Winwood concert and the
German snooker masters all in the same month.
Waldbühne Berlin
( 01806 570 070;
www.waldbuehne-berlin.de
;
Glockenturmstrasse
1; May-Sep; Pichelsberg) The 22,000-seat open-air amphitheatre in the woods has
been around since 1936 and has exceptional acoustics.
Theatre
Get ready to smell the greasepaint and hear the roar of the crowd; with more than 100 stages
around town, theatre is a mainstay of Berlin's cultural scene. Add in a particularly active
collection of roaming companies and experimental outfits and you'll find there are more
than enough offerings to satisfy all possible tastes. Kurfürstendamm in Charlottenburg and
the area around Friedrichstrasse in Mitte (the 'East End'), are Berlin's main drama drags.
Most plays are performed in German, naturally, but of late several of the major stages -
including
Schaubühne
,
Volksbühne
and
Maxim Gorki
) - have started using English surtitles
in some of their productions. There's also the
English Theatre Berlin
, which has some pretty
innovative productions often dealing with sociopolitical themes, including racism, identity
and expat-related issues.
Many theatres are closed on Mondays and from mid-July to late August.
The
Berliner Theatertreffen
(Berlin Theatre Meeting;
www.theatertreffen-berlin.de
)
, in
May, is a three-week-long celebration of new plays and productions that brings together top
ensembles from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Cabaret
The light, lively and lavish variety shows of the Golden Twenties have been undergoing a
sweeping revival in Berlin. Get ready for an evening of dancing and singing, jugglers, ac-
robats and other entertainers. A popular venue is the
Bar Jeder Vernunft
and its larger sister
Tipi am Kanzleramt
whose occasional reprise of the musical
Cabaret
plays to sell-out audi-
ences. In the heart of the 'East End' Theatre District,
Friedrichstadtpalast
is Europe's largest
revue theatre and the realm of leggy, feather-clad dancers and Vegas-worthy technology.
The nearby
Chamäleon Varieté
is considerably more intimate. Travelling shows camp out at
damer Strasse 96; tickets €22-67; Kurfürstenstrasse).
These 'cabarets' should not be confused with
Kabarett,
which are political and satirical
shows with monologues and skits.
